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Dama Diwan: Difference between revisions
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→Informal Dama Diwan / jiro nijo wuwa Dama Diwan
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*1."jume", means that informal Dama can lengthen (double, triple, or even more) the first or only vowel of a word in order to show enlargement, e.g. baako =a big body (bako), taaamo =the huge sky, muuko =a big volume, wiiiwo =huge water (ocean), and so on. | *1."jume", means that informal Dama can lengthen (double, triple, or even more) the first or only vowel of a word in order to show enlargement, e.g. baako =a big body (bako), taaamo =the huge sky, muuko =a big volume, wiiiwo =huge water (ocean), and so on. | ||
*2."i kiban", which, in theory, means that only the lengthened suffix (of | *2."i kiban", which, in theory, means that only the lengthened suffix (of disyllabic words only) is emphasized according to the lengthening of its vowel; in practice, this is asserting the grammatical function of the word on the cost of its stem; so e.g. if we say raboo, this means we assert it is a noun, an extant thing, because the extant thing in this case is very small and tends to be neglected, so raboo means a small tree (rabo), and likewise taroo= a small animal (taro), jutooo is a tiny piece of skin (juto). It works the same way with verbs and adverbs; so, if we say "jajee" it means that (s/he) gave money indeed, but it was so little money (jaj-). An example with an adverb is sunaaa "in the past", which is very very near past. So this function lessens, makes light, or even makes fun, of the stem meaning. | ||
:Formal Dama uses no enlargement / diminutive devices unless adjectives as miwo (big) and sano (small). | :Formal Dama uses no enlargement / diminutive devices unless adjectives as miwo (big) and sano (small). | ||
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The usefulness of the vrddhi (a+vowel) word is primarily to express a color, e.g. tino =a blue gem, taino =blue; (some other common colors are wauko =yellow, i.e. of citrus fruit, taiko =green [of plants], saito =red [of blood], maimo [of fire] or saujo [of the sun] =golden color, jauso [of the moon] =silvery white). | The usefulness of the vrddhi (a+vowel) word is primarily to express a color, e.g. tino =a blue gem, taino =blue; (some other common colors are wauko =yellow, i.e. of citrus fruit, taiko =green [of plants], saito =red [of blood], maimo [of fire] or saujo [of the sun] =golden color, jauso [of the moon] =silvery white). | ||
If the original word cannot be used for its color, the vrddhi is used for its similarity, e.g. buso =a dog, bauso =an animal similar to a dog, e.g. the Tasmanian tiger; or for outer appearance, as in nuro =normal, nauro =something that seems to be normal, ordinary. | If the original word cannot be used for its color, the vrddhi is used for its similarity, e.g. buso =a dog, bauso =an animal similar to a dog, e.g. the Tasmanian tiger; or for outer appearance, as in nuro =normal, nauro =something that seems to be normal, ordinary. | ||
:Formal Dama does not use the vrddhi (augmented vowel) function; instead, it uses "buwo" for color, " | :Formal Dama does not use the vrddhi (augmented vowel) function; instead, it uses "buwo" for color, "ran-" for similarity, and "kawa" for outer appearance. | ||
*4."nanon". This can apply only to the | *4."nanon". This can apply only to the disyllabic words with i/e or u/o in their stem; then the stem vowel (other than "a") can take an "a" after it, thus the stem vowel becomes a semivowel (j / w, not different from i/e and u/o respectively, only that the stem vowel must be weaker or not stronger than the added "a"); thus, nimo → njamo / niamo, kiwo → kjawo / kiawo, tube → twabe / tuabe, nuwe → nwawe / nuawe, etc. | ||
This expresses the negative or opposite of the stem; e.g. nimo =meat, niamo =meatless, kiwo =word, kiawo =without words, tube =give, twabe =not give, refuse, nuwe =to make unclear, nuawe =to clarify. | This expresses the negative or opposite of the stem; e.g. nimo =meat, niamo =meatless, kiwo =word, kiawo =without words, tube =give, twabe =not give, refuse, nuwe =to make unclear, nuawe =to clarify. | ||
:Formal Dama uses instead the negative particle "un" and the stem bim- "to undo, reverse". | :Formal Dama uses instead the negative particle "un" and the stem bim- "to undo, reverse". | ||
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===== Correctness, personalization and limitations / jeto jino, wiso jino, nejo mijo ===== | ===== Correctness, personalization and limitations / jeto jino, wiso jino, nejo mijo ===== | ||
Some people expect a great language to be a show of complexity like some constructed languages. Dama is nothing like that, as it is not even a conlang; it is not a language constructed by people, but one acquired through divination (called "random" functions by the skeptic). Its non-conlang character is obvious because conlangs are regulate by people, so they are always subject to additions, new regulations and alterations. Conlangs are adjusted by their makers, while on the other hand the Dama users have to adjust themselves to the very simple means of Dama. After all, it is not possible to add anything to it, because all the possible combinations of its phonemes have already been used. | |||
:Dama can further evolve by discovering new combinations of words - to that, we can find no limit. The limitation is that every new combination discovered and everything else should be expressed '''according to the above rules'''; then it is perfectly correct; of course, when we say something in Dama, we should imagine ourselves in the receiver's position: "what would I understand if somebody told me that?". | |||
Although so simple, the Dama Diwan language can be personalized in as many ways as there are people on earth. There are two main styles of using Dama: the oriental style, and the western style. | Although so simple, the Dama Diwan language can be personalized in as many ways as there are people on earth. There are two main styles of using Dama: the oriental style, and the western style. | ||
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Apart from these two, the user of Dama can choose between k/g, t/ts/d, o/u, e/i depending on many factors that can influence one’s choice; such factors are: | Apart from these two, the user of Dama can choose between k/g, t/ts/d, o/u, e/i depending on many factors that can influence one’s choice; such factors are: | ||
* differentiation: a user may choose to use open vowels (o/e) with /n/ and closed vowels (u/i) with /m/; or (o/e) with /t/ and (u/i) with /k/. | * differentiation: a user may choose to use open vowels (o/e) with /n/ and closed vowels (u/i) with /m/; or (o/e) with /t/ and (u/i) with /k/. | ||
* dissimilation for taboo reasons: e.g. those who have Turkish as their first language, may choose to pronounce sek or sig instead of sik which in Turkish means "penis". While Greeks can prefer "mon" (door, window, gate) to "mun" which reminds of the Greek word for "vulva". | * dissimilation for taboo reasons: e.g. those who have Turkish as their first language, may choose to pronounce sek or sig instead of sik- which in Turkish means "penis". While Greeks can prefer "mon" (door, window, gate) to "mun" which reminds of the Greek word for "vulva". | ||
* facilitating the memory; e.g. an English speaker may prefer to pronounce "godu" instead of "kuto" (high), so as to connect the word to "God" in memory; while a Turkish speaker may find it better to pronounce the same "kuto", so as to be reminded of "kut" (divine favor). | * facilitating the memory; e.g. an English speaker may prefer to pronounce "godu" instead of "kuto" (high), so as to connect the word to "God" in memory; while a Turkish speaker may find it better to pronounce the same "kuto", so as to be reminded of "kut" (divine favor). | ||
* influences of the speakers' first language: e.g. if the speaker has no /w/ sound in his/her native language (as happens with Germans, Greeks, Italians, Turks, and others), can pronounce ɸ / β / f / v / ʋ in the place of /w/. Hungarians may pronounce a Hungarian "a" in the second syllabe and a Hungarian "á" in the first syllable. | * influences of the speakers' first language: e.g. if the speaker has no /w/ sound in his/her native language (as happens with Germans, Greeks, Italians, Turks, and others), can pronounce ɸ / β / f / v / ʋ in the place of /w/. Hungarians may pronounce a Hungarian "a" in the second syllabe and a Hungarian "á" in the first syllable. | ||
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Of course, there must be some limitations in such personalization, so that the Dama can function as an international auxiliary language: | Of course, there must be some limitations in such personalization, so that the Dama can function as an international auxiliary language: | ||
*It is strongly recommended that the | *It is strongly recommended that the disylabic words have different stress / pitch / length / vowel openness (height) on their two syllables, or at least monosyllabic words should take as much time as disyllabic ones in pronunciation when not pronounced together with the previous word. | ||
*To pronounce Dama words together is not only permitted but also encouraged, for showing in speech how words group together (in writing this can be facilitated by hyphens and punctuation). The 6 monosyllabic words a, i, o, un, in, an can freely be enclitics or proclitics (joined in pronunciation with the previous or next word), but the 27 monosyllabic words starting with consonants and ending with vowels can be joined (as enclitics) to their preceding word only; it can be a bad habit (for possibly creating some confusion) to pronounce such monosyllabic words joint (as proclitics) to their following ones. | *To pronounce Dama words together is not only permitted but also encouraged, for showing in speech how words group together (in writing this can be facilitated by hyphens and punctuation). The 6 monosyllabic words a, i, o, un, in, an can freely be enclitics or proclitics (joined in pronunciation with the previous or next word), but the 27 monosyllabic words starting with consonants and ending with vowels can be joined (as enclitics) to their preceding word only; it can be a bad habit (for possibly creating some confusion) to pronounce such monosyllabic words joint (as proclitics) to their following ones. | ||
*Only the 16 letters a b d e g i j k m n o r s t u w (including the combinations ts and ds) may be used when writing Dama with the Latin alphabet. Palatal sounds (e.g. /c/, /ɟ/) should be considered phonetically same as velar (k/g), and not same as dentals (t/d). The sound /p/ should be avoided, at least by making it emphatic or ejective, and lateral sounds should not be accepted in Dama. | *Only the 16 letters a b d e g i j k m n o r s t u w (including the combinations ts and ds) may be used when writing Dama with the Latin alphabet. Palatal sounds (e.g. /c/, /ɟ/) should be considered phonetically same as velar (k/g), and not same as dentals (t/d). The sound /p/ should be avoided, at least by making it emphatic or ejective, and lateral sounds should not be accepted in Dama. | ||